The documentation was signed January 19, L&L announced Friday, following three days of meetings at Zhanjiang Harbor with port management and government officials.

The harbor is located in south China’s Guangdong Province and is owned by the city government of Zhanjiang. The new center would be significant to L&L's operations and sales growth in western China in the future, the company said.

A formal delegation made up of port management and Zhanjiang city government officials will now visit L&L's operations in the US so that the project can move forward.

"Establishing a large blending and distribution center inside Zhanjiang Harbor gives us a strategic opportunity to better serve our customers from both sides of the Pacific Ocean," L&L chairman and chief executive Dickson Lee said.

"Moving this project forward and continuing to grow our coal businesses by maximizing our resources will enable us to become a leader in China's coal industry."

In addition to its new Ping Li coal washing facility announced last June, Seattle-headquartered L&L Energy operates three mines in China as well as two coal washing facilities, a coking coal facility, and a coal consolidation and wholesale business in the Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

L&L International changed its name to L&L Energy in late 2008.